Loblaw Cos. to buy Shoppers Drug Mart for $11.9B

Canada's Loblaw will acquire pharmaceutical chain Shoppers Drug Mart for $11.9 billion in cash and stock, the companies said Monday. Loblaw, which launched its first store 94 years ago and today operates more than 1,000 retail outlets in Canada, is owned by a Toronto family that also owns Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason in the UK, Holt Renfrew in Canada and Brown Thomas in Ireland. The deal gives Loblaw an increased presence in Canada's urban areas, as many of Shoppers' 1,240 stores are in inner cities.